HAWAIIAN PACIFIC STUDIES/ENGLISH 477 (WI) POLYNESIAN & MICRONESIAN MYTHOLOGY

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1 1 Spring UH West O ahu MW 11:00-12:15 pm Rm E-105 HAWAIIAN PACIFIC STUDIES/ENGLISH 477 (WI) POLYNESIAN & MICRONESIAN MYTHOLOGY Instructor: Ross Cordy Telephone: rcordy@hawaii.edu Office Hours: Tues by appt., Wed 12:30-1:30 p, generally by appointment. Room D101-C Course Description: This class introduces students to a wide range of Pacific Islander traditional oral literature from islands within Polynesia and Micronesia, those parts of the Pacific nearest to Hawai i. This is literature from traditional time periods stories that were common just before European Contact or within a hundred or so years after. Contact in many island groups was in the late 1700s early 1800s, so these are stories of that era. This literature includes tales of the different gods of these islands and the creation of the universe, of the islands, and of man; myths of the afterlife; stories of culture heroes like Maui, Tahaki, Olifat, Nareau, etc.; stories of the arrival of clan groups often headed by certain chiefs; and more recent accounts of pre-european rulers and chiefs and battles for political control. You will be introduced to this literature through lectures, stories that you read and present in class, my comments on those stories, and your two major papers. The cultural setting of these stories is an important part of this class. Students will learn about aspects of these island cultures at European contact political life, religious practices, and so on. This will be done through introductory lectures, by my adding comments during classroom presentation of stories, and through your two major papers. Last, attention will be given to when the stories were recorded, how, and by whom. An important aspect of Pacific island mythology is that the stories have changed since European contact and the versions popular today are often considerably altered from the same stories as told in the early to mid-1800s. Several lectures will focus on this topic. Required Texts: There are no texts. 7 sets of stories will be handed out in class. These will be available in 4 volumes at different points in the class from FedEx/Kinko s Pearl Highlands Center. Reading Sets 1-3: Stories About Creation & Gods (Polynesia Sets 1-2, Micronesia Set 3) Story Sets 4-5: Polynesian Culture Heroes Maui, Tahaki, & Tinirau Story Set 6: Oral Histories of Pohnpei & Tonga Story Set 7: Oral Histories of the Arawa of Aotearoa

2 2 Special Note: Any student with a documented disability who would like to request special accommodation should contact privately Student Services ( ) and the instructor of this course. Grading: Total points: 240 points. Grading will be generally be 90% and above = A, 80-89% = B, etc. However, grading will be by +/- within the grade categories. Some adjustments may be made given the point spreads (curve). This is a writing intensive class. Grading will be based as follows: 30 points. Attendance. You need to attend class!! Stories will be presented in class, and to be exposed to the wide range of this literature you need to be present. Attendance will be taken. 1 point for each class. (See me regarding reasonable excuses.) 35 points. One page summaries of stories to be presented. Seven sets of stories will be passed out during the course of the semester. Each of you will be assigned one story within each set. Each student will briefly summarize (in writing) their story in one page or less an abstract of their story. The summary should give the main characters and the plot of the story. Make copies for each student in the class and me. You will hand out these summaries to the rest of the class the day you do your oral presentation of the story. Each student will do 7 such summaries 5 points each. 35 points. Oral Presentation of the Stories. For each story set, each of you will be presenting the summary of your story. You will summarize orally for the class the story that you prepared the written summary for. These presentations are very informal, so don t panic. In other mythology classes, this has been a fun format. Each student will do 7 such presentations 5 points each. 30 points Quiz for Each Story Set. This is to make sure that you pay attention to the other student s presentations, or even read all the stories and thus gain an understanding of the range of literature. At the end of the presentations for each of the first 6 Story Sets, there will be a brief quiz. It will be given first thing on the next day of class. Each quiz will be worth 5 points. (There will be no quiz on the last story set.) 5 points. Introduction & Outline for Paper 1. Write the Introduction section of your paper and list the headings of the remaining sections of your paper. This is to help you organize your thoughts for your paper. Due Monday Feb. 28.

3 3 50 points Paper 1. About pages plus references and maps. Find and compile an anthology of 6 stories from one island group. Your paper should have the following sections: Introduction: Identify the island group that you gathered stories from, why you selected that island group, the stories that you selected, and the sources for those stories (author. year of publication.). Background on the Island Group s Culture: 2-3 pages on the island group s culture at European Contact, as the setting for the stories. Where is the island group (and direct the reader to the map at the end of the paper)? Give info like size of countries (area and population), simple ranking or very stratified, basic diet (like fish and yams), basic elements of religion (each lineage had shrines where they gave offerings to the gods, and the polity had one major religious structure where offerings were given), and what were the major gods? A Section for Each Story: Present each story. Indicate who collected the story and when (assuming this information is available), and provide footnotes (as relevant) that clarify the setting of the story and unusual words not readily understandable to the reader. Conclusions: 1-2 pp. Summarize some points regarding the stories. References: Alphabetically by last name of author. Give author, year of publication, title of book/web-site, (if book) city published and publisher. Maps: One map should locate your island group within Micronesia or Polynesia. The other map should be one of the island group, and it should give the locations of each story within the island group (as available). Due Wednesday March points Revision of Paper 1. As a writing intensive course, comments on Paper 1 will be returned to students, so Paper 1 can be revised. This is to help improve the students writing skills on analytical papers. [If the draft was acceptable, this is an automatic 5 points.] Revised Paper 1 due Mon. April points. Paper 2. About pages plus references and map. Find and compile an anthology of 8 stories from a second island group. Same format as Paper 1. Due the day of the class final exam.

4 4 CLASS SCHEDULE INTRODUCTION 1. Mon. Jan. 10 Introduction to Oral Literature (Mythology) Read Luomala hand-out before next class. 2. Wed. Jan. 12 Introduction: How Stories Have Been Recorded & How They Change Over Time INTRODUCTION TO POLYNESIAN & MICRONESIAN CULTURES Mon. Jan. 17 HOLIDAY: MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY 3. Wed. Jan. 19 Introduction: The Islands & Cultures of Polynesia - 4. Mon. Jan. 24 Introduction: The Islands & Cultures of Polynesia (contd.) 5. Wed. Jan. 26 Introduction: The Islands & Cultures of Micronesia - 6. Mon. Jan. 31 Introduction: The Islands & Cultures of Micronesia (contd.) Story Set 1 (The Gods & Creation in Tonga, Samoa, & the Society Islands) assignments handed out. Prepare your 1 page summaries & be ready to present the stories. STORIES ABOUT THE GODS & CREATION 7. Wed. Feb. 2 Story Set 1: The Gods & Creation in Tonga, Samoa, & the Society Islands Presenting stories from Story Set Mon. Feb. 7 Story Set 1: The Gods & Creation in Tonga, Samoa, & the Society Islands (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 1 (contd.)

5 5 9. Wed. Feb. 9 Story Set 1: The Gods & Creation in Tonga, Samoa, & the Society Islands (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 1 (contd.). Starting to present stories from Story Set 2. Story Set 2 (The Gods & Creation in the Tuamotus, Marquesas, Easter Island, and New Zealand) assignments handed out Mon. Feb. 14 The Gods Lecture. Story Set 2: The Gods & Creation in the Tuamotus, Marquesas, Easter Island, and New Zealand. 11. Wed. Feb. 16 Story Set 2: The Gods & Creation in the Tuamotus, Marquesas, Easter Island, and New Zealand (contd.).. Presenting stories from Story Set 2. Mon. Feb. 21 HOLIDAY: PRESIDENTS DAY 12. Wed. Feb. 22 Story Set 2: The Gods & Creation in the Tuamotus, Marquesas, Easter Island, and New Zealand (contd.). Presenting stories from Story Set 2 (contd.). 13. Mon. Feb. 28 PAPER 1 INTRO/OUTLINE IS DUE!!!!! Story Set 2: The Gods & Creation in the Tuamotus, Marquesas, Easter Island, and New Zealand (contd.). Presenting stories from Story Set 2 (contd.). Bring your 1 page summaries & your Story Set -13 reader. Story Set 3 (The Gods & Creation in Micronesia) assignments handed out. 14. Wed. Mar. 2 Story Set 3: The Gods & Creation in Micronesia. Presenting stories from Story Set 3

6 6 15. Mon. Mar. 7 Story Set 3: The Gods & Creation in Micronesia (contd). Presenting stories from Story Set 3 (contd.) 16. Wed. Mar. 9 Story Set 3: The Gods & Creation in Micronesia (contd). Presenting stories from Story Set 3 (contd.) Bring your 1 page summaries & your Story Set -13 reader. Story Set 4 (Polynesian Culture Heroes: Maui Stories) assignments handed out CULTURE HEROES 17. Mon. Mar. 14 Story Set 4: Polynesian Culture Heroes: Maui Stories. Presenting stories from Story Set 4. Bring your 1 page summaries & your Story Set 4-5 reader. 18. Wed. Mar. 16 Story Set 4: Polynesian Culture Heroes: Maui Stories. (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 4 (contd.). Bring your 1 page summaries & your Story Set 4-5 reader. Mon. Mar. 21 SPRING BREAK Wed. Mar. 23 SPRING BREAK Mon. Mar. 28 Story Set 4: Polynesian Culture Heroes: Maui Stories. (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 4 (contd.). Bring your 1 page summaries & your Story Set 4-5 reader. Story Set 5 (Polynesian Culture Heroes: Tahaki & Tinirau) assignments handed out. 20. Wed. Mar. 30 PAPER 1 IS DUE!!! Story Set 5: Polynesian Culture Heroes: Tahaki & Tinirau. Presenting stories from Story Set 5. Bring your 1 page summaries & the Story Set 4-5 reader. 21. Mon. Apr. 4 Story Set 5: Polynesian Culture Heroes: Tahaki & Tinirau (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 5 (contd.). Bring your 1 page summaries & the Story Set 4-5 reader. 22. Wed. Apr. 6 Story Set 5: Polynesian Culture Heroes: Tahaki & Tinirau (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 5 (contd.). Bring your 1 page summaries & the Story Set 4-5 reader. Story Set 6 (Pohnpei & Tongan oral histories) assignments handed out.

7 7 ORAL HISTORIES FAMOUS CHIEFS, WARRIORS, & POLITIES 23. Mon. Apr. 11 Story Set 6: Pohnpei (the Saudeleur to Isokelekel) & Tonga (the Tu i Tonga histories) Presenting stories from Story Set 6. Bring your 1 page summaries & your Story Set 6 reader. 24. Wed. Apr. 13 Story Set 6: Pohnpei (the Saudeleur to Isokelekel) & Tonga (the Tu i Tonga histories) (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 6 (contd.). Bring your 1 page summaries & your Story Set 6 reader Mon. Apr. 18 REVISED PAPER 1 DUE Story Set 6: Pohnpei (the Saudeleur to Isokelekel) & Tonga (the Tu i Tonga histories) (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 6 (contd.). Bring your 1 page summaries & your Story Set 6 reader. Story Set 7 (Te Arawa histories Maori) assignments handed out. 26. Wed. Apr. 20 Story Set 7: Te Arawa histories Maori. Presenting stories from Story Set 7. Bring your 1 page summaries & your Story Set 7 reader Mon. Apr. 25 Story Set 7: Te Arawa histories Maori (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 7. Bring your 1 page summaries & the handouts. 28. Wed. Apr. 27 Story Set 7: Te Arawa histories Maori (contd.) Presenting stories from Story Set 7. Bring your 1 page summaries & the handouts Mon. May 2 Parting Thoughts 30. Wed. May 4 Parting Thoughts Mon May FINALS DAY. PAPER 2 DUE!!!!!!

8 8 RELATIONSHIPS OF CLASS TO LEARNING OUTCOMES Hawaiian-Pacific Studies Concentration: This class meets three learning outcomes of this concentration (HPST2) demonstrating an in depth knowledge of specific aspects of the cultures of the Hawaiian people and/or the cultures of Pacific Islanders (traditional literature), (HPST3) conducting research on specific Hawaiian-Pacific topics using primary and secondary sources and critically analyzing findings (traditional literature), and (HPST4) becoming able to present well-organized and competent research findings on specific Hawaiian-Pacific Studies topics in writing, orally, performances or other acceptable media (traditional literature). Humanities Division: This class meets four learning outcomes of this division (HUM1) becoming able to demonstrate a knowledge of the history, philosophy, arts, and/or literature of different cultures from different global regions and indigenous traditions including Native Hawaiian (Polynesian and Micronesian cultures), (HUM4) becoming able to demonstrate well-organized and competent writing in Humanities subjects, particularly in their discipline of study in Humanities, (HUM5) becoming able to deliver well-organized, competent oral presentations on Humanities subjects to relevant audiences, and (HUM6) becoming able to analyze research questions, problems and issues in Humanities subjects. UH West O ahu: This class addresses three learning objectives of UHWO (UHWO1) Written communication: demonstrate clear and effective writing for an intended audience, (UHWO2) Oral communication: demonstrate clear and effective speaking skills when communicating with an intended audience, and (UHWO4) Global and indigenous perspectives: becoming able to analyze issues from multiple cultural perspectives to articulate an understanding of the interconnectedness of local and global issues.